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Day 146 – Thru the Bible
Today we continue in Job and Psalms.
Job 24 – Job wishes that God’s plans for the world and for Job would be more apparent.
Job asks, why is it that (1) the wicked do not seem to experience times of judgment and (2) the righteous never see His days? Both parts of the question probably refer to the OT idea of the “day of the Lord,” which often denotes the coming judgment (Joel 2:1–11) but which also represents the full revealing of God’s glory.
Job describes the injustices of the wicked and the effects of the injustices on their victims. He concludes that God ignores these evils. For a very different conclusion, see Laminations 3:31–36.
Job describes people who oppose wisdom and righteousness as those who rebel against the light. Their reversal of the typical times of sleep and activity (deep darkness has become morning) shows that they do not know the light and instead have chosen to become friends with the terrors of deep darkness.
Job notes the prevalence of injustice to the barren, childless woman and the widow. The care of such helpless people was an important part of the law (Exodus 22:21–27; Deuteronomy 24:17–22), and yet it seems as though God is not judging those guilty of such injustice.
Honestly, have you ever felt this way about God?
Job 25 – Bildad’s words represent the final speech of the three friends. The friends have argued that their theological understanding and application represent God’s perspective. They have never really considered the possibility that they could be wrong.
How then can man be in the right before God? This question is repeated several times by Job and his friends in slightly different forms (4:17; 9:2; 15:14).
Is it possible that your perspective of what God is doing is inaccurate?
Job 26 – Job’s sarcasm directed at the three who have now been seen to be false comforters affirms by implication what a true comforter should be like. A true comforter would have “helped him who has no power.” A true comforter would have “saved the arm that has no strength.” A true comforter would have “counseled him who has no wisdom.” A true comforter would have “plentifully declared sound knowledge.” A helper, a saver, a counselor, a proclaimer: all those things a true comforter would be—as our Savior ultimately demonstrated.
Note the no in “no power . . . no strength . . . no wisdom” (vv. 2–3). True comfort comes to us when we are at the end of the road, with no gas in the engine and no human possibility of gas for thousands of miles around. Grace doesn’t add to what’s already there. Grace is always here for us even when there is nothing else there. This is the comforting grace that Jesus embodied in His life and ministry. He is the Comforter for all who have broken down and have nothing left to run on.
And Jesus has sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to indwell us 24/7.
How do you remember that, as a Believer, you are truly never alone?
Job 27 – By saying that he will hold fast to his integrity, Job echoes the Lord’s description of him in the prologue (2:3).
Eliphaz claimed to speak for God in correcting Job (see 22:26–27). Job in turn declared that he received revelation from God that he could not deny (6:10). Now, he says that he will not conceal the thoughts of the Almighty.
If Job’s integrity is actually what is true with God, then Job’s friends ought to consider whether they are the ones who stand in danger of the judgment that they have described.
Truth is we are all sinful people, yet we know if we are truly living in unrepentant sin. If that’s NOT the case, then we, like Job, can maintain our integrity—that we are fully reliant upon the grace of God All day every day.
How can you remind yourself that if your suffering in what seems to be an unjust way, that God is in control of a system far too complex for us to understand and remember to trust God’s wisdom?
Job 28 – Job describes the difficulties of mining precious metals. Neither the birds of the sky (falcon’s eye) nor the animals of the earth (lion) have any knowledge of activities like mining. They are uniquely human endeavors.
Job’s description of human industry is summed up well in the line: the thing that is hidden He brings out to light.
But where shall wisdom be found? With all the negative statements in these verses, the answer is that true wisdom is unknown to mankind.
The place of wisdom is hidden from the eyes of all living creatures on the earth, including humans and the birds of the air.
The reference to Abaddon and Death here is likely related to Job’s earlier description of them as a realm that is hidden from human observation (26:5–6).
Only God understands and knows wisdom and how it is acquired. God gives wisdom, and it is defined in relation to Him: the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom (v. 28; see Proverbs 1:7; 9:10), and to turn away from evil is understanding (Proverbs 3:7; 16:6).
Since we cannot fully comprehend all truth, how will you continue to trust the One who does know all things?
Psalm 141 – The psalmist here expresses his heart’s desire to live with integrity and righteousness before God. His call to the Lord is not here primarily because he is being oppressed and afflicted, as is the case in many of the other psalms of David. Rather, the earnestness with which he approaches God is to convey his deep longing for God’s enablement to withstand the temptations of the “delicacies” of the wicked.
He is more than happy to receive the rebuke of a righteous man, for he knows such a rebuke or correction only serves to keep him on the path of righteousness himself. But he longs also for the wicked themselves to be shown for what they are, to receive the judgment that they well deserve. His prayer, then, is for God to keep him faithful and not to be caught in the snares of the ungodly, so that as the wicked fall due to their own devising, he rather may walk “safely” in the ways of God.
All of this speaks highly of God’s character and His ways that truly are best. Yes, the delicacies of the wicked are ever present. But one can resist these enticements knowing that there is a better, indeed, an infinitely superior way of life. God’s own goodness and God’s righteous path provide the real beauty and glory that alone will satisfy the godly person’s desire.
God’s grace is here seen in granting this man vision to see the true good that is God, ultimately manifested in Jesus, and to desire Him above all else.
In “good” times and in “bad”, how do you seek Jesus above all else?
What other thoughts or questions does today’s reading bring up?
Some of these notes are from the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible study notes. We highly recommend this study Bible.
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